HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Diamond Royals played their fourth game in a row on their own field, looking to pick up a big early season win against the Falcons of Messiah University.

A tight game early on, the Royals ultimately fell in the midweek contest by a final tally of 12-7.

Highlights

• The Royals found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the top frame of the first inning, but showed life in the bottom to begin the affair. After a Jaylon Lee single and an advancement to second via a balk, Gage Riddick came through with an RBI single to left, cutting Messiah's lead in half. 
• Starter Jon Sawyers worked around trouble in the top of the second to throw a zero up on the scoreboard, but the Royals went down quickly in the bottom half of the inning to keep the score where it was at. 
• With a few runners coming across and the bases loaded, head coach Adam Posey turned the ball over to first-year Alec Riles in his first appearance for the Diamond Royals. The reliever shut down the rally with a sharp slider darting away from the Falcons' batter, leaving the runners on base where they stood.
• Jordan Jones walked to begin the top of the third, quickly stealing second, like he does. Brett Lindsay drove a sharp single past the diving infielder, scoring Jones easliy and continuing to keep the Royals on Messiah's tail. After advancing to third on a passed ball, Riddick grounded out deep enough to score Lindsay from third.
• Dylan Cassell led off the bottom of the fourth with a single up the middle, quickly being moved over by Noah Dahllof via the sacrifice bunt. Ethan Spraker continued his solid start of the season, driving a single to the right side and scoring Cassell. 
• In the bottom half of the seventh, Spraker led off with a single and moved his way around to third with a single from Lee. Lindsay then knocked another RBI single to give the Royals life in the latter third of the contest. 
• With the Falcons up by a good margin, the Royals weren't going down without a fight. After reaching first from a throwing error by Messiah, Lee later scored Spraker with a shar RBI single. Lindsay would later score Lee with another RBI single of his own, but that would end the scoring for the Royals. 

What's Next

The Diamond Royals are back at home on Thursday, hosting Hood College in their final home game of the opening stretch. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM.

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the baseball program this year follow EMU on Twitter and Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.